Wild Kratts: Power of Nature - Episode 33 - Chris Crush
by Taismo-89
Summary: Collab with Soul Rider. Chris still has doubts about true love. But maybe a certain friend of his brother's "girlfriend" can help him find an answer...


It was a calm day in the park. The Wild Kratts took the opportunity to have a day off.

Martin was hanging with their local creature friends. Koki and Jimmy had gone into town on a date. Aviva and Mina were currently bird watching from the top of the Tortuga. Bite-Size was taking a nap in his bat box. And Chris was sitting in a nearby tree reading about more mythical creatures.

Something troubled his mind. He knew pretty much a lot about both natural and mythical creatures, and a lot about nature as well. But love? It was one of the few things he was still learning about.

Of course the love like his mother's or his siblings' were good, but... that "other kind of love" was still hard for him to understand.

Especially after the incident with Cyrano. Sure, he still liked Aviva, but it was more of a friend/family like now. It made him question more about what love is.

Suddnely, his deep thoughts were interrupted by a frisbee hitting his head.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry, Chris," he heard a kid voice. It was Aidan. "I'm still learning how to play with this thing." Nolan came behind him, giggling.

"Oh, hey, guys." Chris climbed down the tree.

"What brings you here?"

"Nolan wanted to come play here so I went with him. Our mom said she will catch up with us."

"Speaking of your mom, I don't think I ever got her name. What is it?"

"Tania."

"Hi, Chris," Laura greeted him, being followed by Martin.

"Hey... where are you taking my brother?" Chris joked.

"Knock it off, bro. We're just going to watch Gavin and Ronan in the fishing competition," Martin said.

"I'm just kidding, bro," Chris chuckled. "You guys have fun."

"We will." Laura pulled Martin's arm. "Come on! We're going to be late. I gotta be there when my little boys catch a big fish!"

The brunette chuckled as she dragged his brother off. He knew that there will be more happening than watching her kids fish. He felt a little jealous for this reason. His bro was lucky to know what love is. When will he understand too?

He turned back to the boys, and saw then reuniting with their mother. But the woman tripped on a rock and fell on the floor, dropping her glasses.

"Oh my gosh!" Chris ran to help her get up. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry… I-I'm just really clumsy," Tania chuckled nervously.

"Here." Chris handed Tania her glasses, which were luckily not broken.

"Oh thank you." She slipped them on her face and looked straight at him. Immediately, a faint pink hue came to her cheeks. Fortunately for her, he didn't notice.

"Clumsy, huh?" Chris tried getting into a conversation. "I used to be like that as well."

He wouldn't tell her since she wouldn't believe him, but when he was a tyke, he would accidentally make any plant nearby grow. And most of the time, it's because he tripped and touched soil or unconsciously caused it. It took him four years to properly control it, including when he was even a baby. And it was after those four years of practice that they were sealed.

"Really?" Tania chuckled. Aidan and Nolan just observed not getting what was going on.

Aviva looked at the ground for a split second. Then her focus went back to it in surprise. Using her binoculars, she observed her old crush talking to Aidan and Nolan's mom.

"Hmmm..." she thought for a moment.

* * *

She ran to meet Laura and Martin, who were observing Gavin fishing.

"Hola." She sit down to talk with them.

"Hey, Aviva. Where's Mina?" Martin asked.

"She's over there." She pointed out to the other side of the lake, where Mina started playing with Ronan. "Laura, remember your friend with glasses?"

"My BFF Tania's here?" Laura looked at her.

"No, she's back in the park with her sons. And I couldn't help but notice that she looked, maybe, a little attracted to Chris." Martin smirked at that.

"Aviva, are you jealous?" he asked. The Air Guardian narrowed her eyes, but then relaxed.

"Well... maybe just a little. I still haven't gotten over the events with Cyrano."

"I thought you and Chris talked about that," Martin said.

"We did, but feelings don't go away so easily. I can tell now that he sees me as a friend again, but..." She sighed. "Sometimes, feelings just get complicated."

"I can understand," Laura said. "And so can Tania." Aviva looked at her quizzically.

"A thing happened with her husband... and she didn't get over it," Laura admitted.

"What exactly happened?"

"She doesn't like talking about it," Laura said. "Anyway, ever since this happened, she became a full-time mother."

"Like you?"

"Yes. And she had raised them by herself since after Nolan was born."

Aviva thought about that. Life must have been hard for Tania.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tania and Chris kept talking about their lives. Well, Chris left out having powers as a kid. And she was clearly not talking about SOMETHING. He didn't ask about it, though. Didn't want to look nosy.

"You're not telling me something," Tania deadpanned. Chris froze.

"W-well, you're not telling me something either," he replied. "That makes it even. I won't ask about it." She sighed.

"Does it have something to do about that incident with Howard?" The Kratt in green could only glare at hearing that name.

"Well, a little," Chris said. "After that, for a while, my big brother and your blonde friend have been seeing other a lot."

"Oh, Laura..." Tania chuckled. "I guess your brother is the only man that ever looked at her differently."

"Huh?"

"After Howard and Laura got divorced, she started believing that no one would ever like her again," the girl in glasses said. "For a long time, she hid that depression, and I guess when she met your brother... she felt free to talk about that. I mean, I may be her BFF, but there are some things she just can't explain to me. She needed someone that could accept all her good and bad things... and I guess that is your brother."

"Hmm..." Chris thought. "Well… he really seems to like her..."

"And she likes him apparently. After you guys saved her from Howard, he was mostly what she ever talked about," Tania admitted. Chris chuckled at that. He suddenly felt a little fuzzy in himself. What was this?

He felt like he needed to say something. But what?

"Um... any plans for tonight?"

"Not at all," Tania said. "Well, tomorrow I'm taking Aidan and Nolan to see The Lion King musical. They already watched the movie, so I thought it would be interesting."

"I didn't know they were exhibiting it here," Chris said, surprised.

"Probably because you never noticed any of the advertising posters or fliers around here." Chris then looked and saw what she was talking about. He blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, those. Never was one for reading any news." The young woman giggled.

"Why don't you join us?" The male brunette's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Of course, and I'm sure my boys would love it that you come with us."

'Please say 'yes', please say 'yes'!' she chanted in her mind.

The fuzzy feeling was getting stronger. It was beginning to block out his train of thought.

"Sure. I would love to go. Plus, Mina would love to watch." Chris smiled.

'YES!' Tania cheered in her mind. "Okay then... I gotta go now. My boys need some rest. Boys. Let's go home."

"Okay, mom. Come on, Nolan," Aidan called his little brother.

As the family left the park, Chris folded his arms and let out a heavy sigh. Wait a second. He bolted into a straight position, shock written all over his face. He saw from movies that when people sigh like he just did, it meant...

"Hey, bro!" Martin called as he came up to him with Laura and her boys following behind. "Gavin won first place at the fishing competition!"

"You should've seen it, Chris!" Gavin said joyfully. "It was huge! Not as big as Gulpa, but still really big!"

"Really?" Chris asked. "Congratulations, Gavin."

"I have a bigger trophy now to put on my shelf," Gavin said. "Too bad it's so heavy." He placed it down with a thud.

"No sweat, Gavin. I'll help you with that." Martin winked.

Using his medallion, he brought a big body of water to pick up the trophy. It was lifted easily.

"Cool."

"Amazing!" Ronan commented.

"It's so mysterious," Laura said. "That you can control water just like THAT."

"Yeah, it's a little weird..." Martin blushed.

"No, it's awesome!" Laura said. "Me and Tanya are part of a myth-themed club, and we're really into the supernatural and mystics."

"Wow, really?" Martin said. "That's cool!"

Chris's eyes sparkled at that. He can tell Tanya more about him and not worry about making her think he's crazy! Wait, what? Did he really think that?

* * *

The next day, the boys were getting to the theater, and there were the Wild Kratts equally excited to see the show.

The two families arrived at the same time. "Hey, guys!" the Kratt Brothers greeted.

"Hi Wild Kratts," the mothers replied. As the three groups became one, Laura got on Martin's left and Tania got on Chris's right. The bros were side by side. Martin took notice of Chris's cheeks getting a little pink as he glanced at his "girlfriend"'s BFF. He smirked at this.

'Little bro had to learn at some point,' he mused in his head. Laura followed his line of sight, but focused on Tania. Her cheeks were getting a bit pink. She smiled.

'Maybe, she'll finally let it go after this,' she thought hopefully.

"We have the tickets!" Aidan warned. "Let's go!"

While the kids rushed to the door, Martin and Laura looked at Chris and Tanya.

"I think they..."

"Need a little push," Martin completed the girl's sentence. They looked at each other. Already completing each other's sentences? Both blushed at this before chuckling nervously.

"So... any plans?"

"Maybe the show will give us an idea." Martin winked.

* * *

When the intermission came after the first part, while the kids were eating before the next part, Chris told Tania about the lion adventures he and his brother lived.

"He-Who-Breathes-Fire has a mane like no other. That Bad Hair Day didn't keep him from helping his family."

"Wow, what a loyal father," she commented. "Just like Mufasa. It's always sad that he died when Simba was a cub and then Scar convinced him it was his fault."

"Yeah. And then he runs away. At least he wasn't..." He hesitated. Should he tell her THAT?

"Wasn't what?"

"... Abandoned by him," he said in a low tone with his head low. Tania gasped in shock.

"Your father left you?"

"Um... yeah," Chris sighed, giving up. He had to tell now. "Because of this." He made a vine grow out of a vase with dirt close to them by just touching it.

"Plant powers?" Tania observed, surprised. "So AMAZING! But how?"

Chris smiled after hearing those words. "It's too much stuff. I'll tell you a little now, a little later... it's an easier way to absorb this fact."

"And I thought Laura's "boyfriend" was the only one with amazing powers. I remember when he saved Ronan from Howard and that dark thing." Tania started sounding a little more excited. "I got so amazed. There was so much stuff I wanted to ask!"

"Okay. Well, to start with how, I was born with them."

"BORN?! That is amazing! Does it run in the family?"

"No. Only me and Martin were like that. But, as you would guess, we couldn't show them in public. And then... there was THEM." He shuddered at the memories of the lupus attacking him and Martin when they were kids.

"Them?"

"Ever heard of Lupus Phantasma in your myth club? I heard you were part of it from Laura."

"Phantom Wolves? Why, yes, but we didn't go deeply into those creatures. What did they want from you two?"

"Well..." Chris was going to say, until they saw that the intermission was over.

"Mom! Chris! Come on!" Aidan called. "It's starting."

"We're coming," Tania answered her son.

* * *

When the play got to the scene between Simba and Nala, Tania leaned on Chris's shoulder. He blushed at this. He couldn't deny it now. He was...

"Oh, so the bros now have girlfriends," an ominous voice went over the audience. The musicians and actors stopped. Everyone looked around, wondering what was going on. The Kratt Brothers cringed, immediately recognizing the voice. Laura and Tania looked at their respective "dates".

"Martin?" Laura questioned worriedly.

"What's wrong, Chris?" Tania asked in concern.

"It's THEM," they mumbled.

Paris and Maximilian appeared on the stage, scaring the actors and the audience.

"What are you guys doing here?" Chris stood up.

"What else, Earth Guardian? To claim you and your brother's powers as ours," Paris explained. "What we didn't expect to see though was you with your girlfriends." The four humans blushed a deep red.

"She's not my girlfriend!" the bros yelled, flustered. They actually wish they were, though.

"Whatever. Max..."

Maximilian ran in the kids' direction, making them panic. Mina stood in front, protecting them all with a forcefield.

"I won't be able to keep this for long! You guys run!" Mina warned.

All four boys ran to the exit.

"Quick! Everybody out!" Martin yelled to the crowd. The audience and performers fled the auditorium. Mina struggled to keep up the field. Martin released an icy wind at Maximilian, knocking him over. Paris charged at him, but Chris summoned vines to pull his bro out of the way.

Nolan tripped and fell, and the Lupus took the opportunity to try to get him.

"Nolan!" Aidan gasped, calling Chris' attention.

The Earth Guardian summoned his bow and shot an arrow close to the boy, creating a wall of thorny vines.

The Lupus came to a halt.

"Even weapons from the gods... you two just keep getting better and better."

"Better for us to protect people from YOU!" Chris yelled. Tania hid behind him and Laura hid behind Martin. The blonde summoned his sword.

"Stand back! Leave us alone!" Martin growled, pointing his sword at the Lupus.

The shadow wolves snarled at them. Then, they charged at an angle. Both brothers prepared themselves, but the creatures cut around them. Following were the screams of two girls.

"AGH! Get lost!" Tania gasped, trying to defend herself.

"Mom!" Aidan and Gavin gasped.

"Take this!" Laura tried to defend herself with her frying pan.

It fazed Maximilian for a moment, but not for long and he started growling.

"Hey! Get away from her!" the bros shouted before making crystal/ice spikes appear between the wolves and the girls. The Lupus turned around to look at them.

"If they're not your girlfriends, why are you so protective of them?" Maximilian questioned.

"Do we need a reason to help anyone?" Chris argued. "All life needs protection. Children, adults, animals, humans, plants... no exception! That's our mission as Nature Guardians: protect lives!"

Tania stared in awe. Her heart was pounding. She thought that she would never feel it again after the incident with her husband. But she indeed feel it now. And it was for this young man.

"He's so brave... and he puts someone else's needs and feelings before his own," she thought.

Seeing Chris being attacked by Maximilian, Tania felt she needed to do something.

Luckily, she still had her purse and remembered her safety item. Digging into it, she finally found it and pulled it out.

THUD!

Maximilian fell to the floor, fainted. Tania had hit him with her favorite book. It was a huge book about mythology and myths.

"And they ask why I keep carrying books," Tania said, looking at Laura, who chuckled.

Laura then slammed her frying pan on Paris, knocking him out instantly. "Hah, that felt good."

"Remind us not to get on your bad side," Martin commented.

"Agreed," Chris added. Both girls giggled as the pink returned to their cheeks.

The kids cheered for their mothers, and the actors cheered as well.

"Okay, we'll leave. For now." Paris grabbed Maximillian's tail and they both ran away through the theater' entrance.

"Thanks a lot!" The actor that played Simba said. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Chris thought for a moment.

* * *

The actors performed for all the Wild Kratt Kids later, on an exclusive showing. It all went successful in the end. The children applauded as the play ended.

"It was the best play ever!" Tommy said.

"I love lions!" Jenny cheered.

The Wild Kratts were observing the kids talking excitedly about the play.

"I'm glad it all ended well," Aviva said.

"Especially for two Kratt Brothers," Koki added. She pointed in a direction, where the bros and the girls were. Aviva smiled. Not just for Martin, but also Chris.

"Thanks again for helping us earlier," Chris said to them.

"We should be thanking you two for saving us and our kids," Tania said.

"You deserve something," Laura added. Her friend nodded in agreement.

"Oh, you don't have to give us anything," Martin told them. "We're just happy that-"

Tania and Laura kissed each of the brothers on their cheeks. Martin smiled as he put his hand on his cheek, blushing.

Chris blushed even harder, looking at Tania.

* * *

Later in the park, Tania and Chris talked with each other more openly.

"I'm sorry for your husband."

"*sigh* Craig was a nice man. After the car accident, I sure thought no one would ever like me."

"Well, we can never lose our hope." Chris put a hand on her shoulder.

They saw Martin and Laura talking.

"Look, we've been dating for a while... and I guess it's time to... take it to the next level."

Laura looked at the Kratt in blue. Martin seemed serious.

"I don't wanna force you to do anything. I just... want a chance to show you that things can be better for you," Martin was saying, while holding her hands. "And if you want to give me this chance... give it with your heart. And don't worry, 'cause I'm not in a hurry."

"I don't need you to wait," Laura answered. "I made up my mind." She rushed to kiss him firmly. Martin was startled at first, but then he closed his eyes to enjoy that moment and embraced her firmly.

"Aww..." Tania said. "They sure deserve each other."

"Finally," Chris commented.

Tania looked his way with a smile. Silently, she laced her fingers in his. Chris felt it and blushed again, but then smiled, and allowed their hands to close.

'So this is what it feels like,' he said mentally. 'The special love.'

They looked at each other for a while, just making visual contact.

"Well, I gotta go check on my boys. It was the most exciting day I ever had," Tania said. "Thank you, Chris." She kissed him again, but this time, he felt himself blushing way less.

"So... we will see each other again?" He asked.

"I'm hoping for that." Tania looked at him, smiling, before going away.

* * *

"_Love isn't only about liking someone for their qualities or defects, or by sharing the same interests. It's about taking your time to be with the person, and sometimes putting their needs before yours,_" Chris wrote in the Wild Kratts Diary. _"And although the Lupus tried to ruin everything, I say this was a great weekend for all of us."_

He looked at a picture they took after the play: there was all the crew with Tania, Laura and the boys. He sighed, finally happy by understanding… that he was in love.


End file.
